PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

LXXVII. Every Step of the Way

Eva and Kenji took off after their dinosaur.

"He's gonna get caught!" Eva yelled, watching as a pteranodon flew closer to their dino.

Kenji huffed, pushing forward ahead of her and tackling Rebel aside into the bushes. Eva ran after him, the trio hiding in the bushes.

Eva panted, laying her hand on her ankle as they waited in fear.

"Easy. Shh, shhh, shh, shhhh," Kenji said as he rested his forehead against Rebel's side.

The pteraondon flew into the wall of an airlock, crumbling to the ground.

"Yeah!" Kenji cheered. "I'm so proud of you," he told Rebel.

"I'm so proud of you," Eva said, pulling Kenji into a hug.

As they held each other tightly, their hearts beat in sync, a silent language of love. In that moment, all their worries faded away, replaced by a sense of contentment, of pure bliss. Their love for each other was palpable, filling the air with a sweet tenderness.

Kenji pressed his lips to her forehead, before Eva pulled back, a smile on her face. They found themselves lost in one another's eyes, their hearts warmed.

After a moment, Eva said, "Come on, we need to get back. We might still be able to lead Kash to the waterfall."

~~~

Kenji and Eva led Rebel to the entrance of the cave while they hid behind a rock. As soon as they spotted Kash running over, they motioned to Rebel.

"Let's go little dude."

"Come on, bwaby," Eva cooed. She clicked her tongue, and Rebel excitedly approached her.

"Come on, come on..."

~~~

"We got him!" Darius yelled, him and Ben running towards the group with the brachiosaurus in tow. "Ben's plan worked!"

The campers ran forward, bringing Darius into a large group hug. Brooklynn glanced around, then went in for a second hug.

"Incredible. You are all so incredible," Mae smiled. "Come here!"

Darius happily dove into her arms for a hug. "You pulled it off, dude!"

"I knew your plan would work," said Brooklynn.

"Thanks, guys. I just couldn't let that asshole keep Firecracker."

Yaz chuckled, "I'm sorry, Firecracker?"

"Oh, yeah, I named her," Ben said nonchalantly.

"Firecracker! I love it!" Sammy giggled, rushing forward to bring the brachio into a hug.

They all greeted Firecracker, their newest official member.

"It's so good to be back," Darius said.

"It's good to have you back," Kenji replied.

"I missed you— we, we missed you," Brooklynn added. Eva nudged her shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. B widened her eyes and shook her head, giving Eva a look that said, shut up.

Ben bent down to the baby brachio's level. "Welcome to the family, Firecracker. You and Bumpy would have really gotten along. Though, by now, I'm sure she's probably forgotten all about old Ben."

~~~

Heavy metal music blasted from BRAD's mouth, waking Eva up from her nap.

Darius ran over, urging him to stop, "BRAD, stop!"